Push-button turn signal switch



Oct. 27, 1953 c. H. HOKLAS 2,657,286

PUSH-BUTTON TURN SIGNAL SWITCH Filed Jan. 4, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 h I 20 I09 I03 60 Clarence H. Hair/as INVENTOR.

Oct. 27, 1953 c. H. HOKLAS PUSH-BUTTON TURN SIGNAL. SWITGH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 4, 1951 Clarence H. Hok/as INVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 27, 1953 PUSH-BUTTON TURN SIGNAL SWITCH Clarence H. Hoklas, Chicago, Ill., assignor of twenty-five per cent to' George L. Hoklas, Chicago, Ill.

Application January 4, 1951, Serial No. 204,433

cation of force on one of the switches turns the lamp off.

Ancillary objects and features of importance will become apparent in following the description of the illustrated form of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a standard fragmentarily shown steering wheel showing the emplacement of the improved device;

Figure 2 is a schematic layout of wiring suggested in connection with the invention;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1 and in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1 and in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Figure 1 and in the direction of the arrows.

I have illustrated a fragmentary part of a standard steering wheel H] which includes spokes l2 and I4 emanating from a steering wheel hub IS. The steering column 18 is provided with a nut 20 to help hold the steering wheel ID in place thereon. This construction is standard.

Attention is now invited to Figure 2. Left vehicle lamps 2| and 22 are shown, as are the right lamps 23 and 24. A conductor 25 extends from the lamps 2| and 22 appropriately and to a terminal of a standard relay 26, the wire 25 being fused as at 28, the fuse being carried by a part of the relay. The wire 29 extending from the right lamps 23 and 24 is fused as at 30, this fuse also being carried by the relay casing and forming a part of the relay.

A source of current, as the battery 32 is diagrammatically shown in Figure 1 and has a line 34 extending therefrom with a switch 35 therein representing a standard vehicle ignition switch.

There are three collector rings 40, 42 and 44 arranged concentrically about the steering column of th vehicle. Each collector ring has a brush assembly contacting it (Figure 2), the brush assembly 45, 48, and being mounted appropriately for this purpose.

1 Claim. (Cl. 20061.2'7)

A switch 52 to control the right lamps has one wire 53 connected with the brush assembly 50 and another wire 54 connected with the brush assembly 46, this assembly being used as a part of the primary circuit being grounded through the relay 26.

The switch 58 is provided with a wir 60 which connects with the brush assembly 48 and a wire 62 which connects with the brush assembly 46.

The inner ring 40 has a lead 64 extending therefrom which is connected to a terminal 68 of the relay, while the ring 42 is provided with a wire 10 which is connected with a terminal 19 of the relay and the collector ring 44 is provided with a wire 12 which is connected with the standard flasher or blinker l4 and then to a terminal E5 of the relay.

The wiring is arranged such that the wires 64, i6 and 12 are arranged in a plug 11 which fits into a suitable opening in the back part of a housing 80. This housing is substantially circular and comprises a back plate 82 provided with a boss 84 which fits over the steering column tube I 9 and which is held in place by standard screws 85. There is an upwardly extending flange 86 at the edge of the plate 82 which defines a cavity 81 into which the rings 40, 42 and 44 are placed. The rings are mounted on an electrically insulating back plate 83 which is fastened in the cavity 81 and which is spaced by means of an insulating spacer ring or blocks 90 from the back plate 82 in order to allow ample space for the wiring.

In order to prevent the insulating material mounting plate 88 from slipping in the housing 80, a plurality of L-shaped clips 9! are fitted in peripheral notches provided in the plate 38 and each L-shaped bracket has a screw 92 threaded therein, the screws being passed through apertures in the flange 86 of the housing.

The brush assemblies 44, 68 and 50 are located in a casing 94 which has a mounting bracket 96 fixed thereto. This mounting bracket (Figure 3) is provided with a U-shaped upper portion or night 98 and has smoothly curved legs 99 and H10 extending from the lower ends thereof and fastened to the steering wheel by means of screws or like standard fastening elements. The preferable location for attachment of the legs 99 and 106 is the hub l6 of the steering wheel.

As noted from inspection of Figure 1 the wires 62 and 54 are connected to the brush assembly by means of the common wire I83, while the wires 60 and 53 are arranged to extend to the switches 52 and 58, these switches being installed in the removable center cover of the steering wheel, or

if there is insufiicient space under this cover they may be attached or secured to the steering wheel spokes l2 and M by means of mounting brackets [06 and I08. The switches 52 and 58 are of standard type and are so arranged that when they are actuated by pushing the buttons thereof, the switches stay closed until such time that the buttons are again operated.

A block I99 of insulating material is located beneath the bight 98 of the bracket 96 and has three inwardly opening pockets H9, H2 and H4 therein, each pocket accommodating a single brush assembly so that the contact of the brush assembly may press against the slip rings. The brush assemblies are of the spring loaded type so that the contacts thereof always press firmly against the slip rings 49, 42 and 44.

In operation one of the buttons, for example the button of the switch 52 is pressed. This closes the circuit including the slip rings M and 49 causing through the blinker M, relay 26 and necessary wiring disclosed in Figure 1, the right lamps 23 and 24 of the vehicle to operate intermittently. They will continue to operate until such time that the button of the switch 52 is again pressed to open this circuit. When the button of the switch 58 is pressed, the circuit including the relay, slip rings 94 and 42 and other necessary components including the blinker 1'4 is completed thereby causing the lamps 2i and 22 to operate intermittently.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

For use in an automotive vehicle, a turn signal attachment comprising left and right turn signal switches adapted to be mounted on the steering wheel of a vehicle, a pair of electrical leads leading from each switch, a three brush assembly adapted to be mounted on the steering wheel of the vehicle, one lead from each switch being connected to a common first brush, the other leads from said switches being connected to the second and third brushes, respectively, a three ring collector ring assembly adapted to be mounted on the steering column of the vehicle and having first, second and third rings contacting the respective brushes, first, second and third conductors extending from said rings, said first conductor being electrically energized, and passing through a blinker unit to a balanced relay bar, the second and third conductors being wound on electromagnets disposed at the opposite ends of said relay bar, and left and right lamp wires having contacts thereon disposed adjacent the ends of said relay bar, closing of either switch energizing its associated electromagnet to draw the relay bar into contact with the lamp wires of one side of the vehicle and causing the same to blink intermittently and closing of both switches causing the relay bar to alternately contact both the left and right lamp wires of the vehicle.

CLARENCE H. I-IOKLAS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,389,366 Loder 2 Aug. 30, 1921 1,435,692 Blackburn Nov. 14, 1922 1,643,796 East Sept. 27, 1927 2,021,386 Russell Nov. 19, 1.935 2,268,545 Crider Jan. 6, 1942 2,282,761 I-Ierwig May 12, 1942 2,433,938 Varner Jan. 6, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 341,807 Great Britain Jan. 22, 1931 

